Just thought I'd let everyone know about the new 'Ianovated' wetsuit I've been using for the last month. Iniatially I was a bit sceptical that the suit would make any significant difference (as my current suit is the superb O'neill psycho2 5:3) but it does. I'm now windsurfing in unbeliveably low temperatures and not simply surviving but having fun; comfortable enough to be happy trying freestyle.
I used to sail in no lower than 8C/46F and even in that I would have to stop every 5-10 min (depending on windchill) in order to shake my hands warm.
About 2 weeks ago I sailed for two hours (inland UK lake) ....2C/35F water temp., AIR was 3.5C dropping to 2C/35F ( last hr was sleet! ) with gusts up to 38knots averaging 27 knots and I had a great session.....only one out for some reason . Only time I stopped sailing was due to tiredness not cold.
Can't recommend this new suit and hand heating tube system enough.....if you need a new winter wetsuit buying this really is a no brainer. If your missing out on good local conditions because its too cold you should seriously consider one.
Bad points?
People asking every 5 min...whats that sticking out of your suit mate! Definately use the black tubes supplied.
Very slight extra stiffness around shoulders (dry zip and tubes)....only really noticable when you first put on...and still plenty flexible for any maneuver.
Takes extra energy to blow through the tubes...but even in above conditions I only needed to blow down tubes 3/4 times per 3/4 mile reach after a good dunking, 1/2 times if you stay dry after transistion to maintain warm hands, so again not a major issue.
You end up sailing in such cold conditions that rigging up/getting changed and first few reaches can be pretty miserable until your body heat kicks in.
You can forget your sailing in such extreme conditions...so be extra careful if sailing without rescue cover!
All in all though well worth the few very minor issues to defeat cold hands and get an enjoyable day on the water.

I'd be very skeptical about your post, seeing that this is your first post and reads like a commercial - except that I fully understand where you're coming from. I got my Ianovated suit about six weeks ago, and my wife got one a few days later when she tried it out. It has changed out winter windsurfing more that we could possibly have expected. I have blogged about it a few times.

Today, we went windsurfing because it was a beautiful day - sunny, air temps 44 F, water temps maybe 34 F. So what if the grounds are still covered with 6+ inches of snow here?

The wind dropped from 20 to below 15 mph when we arrived, so we ended up SUP sailing and had a blast. My wife, who wore the suit without tubes and used open palm mittens, practiced light wind freestyle - heli tacks, upwind 360s, duck tacks, push tacks, and more. I was a bit lazier, but still got my first light wind heli tacks, upwind 360s, and duck tacks of the year in. My hands are very cold sensitive, so I used the tubes a lot to warm up my open palm mittens after falling in (which happened quite a lot). With the tubes, I was perfectly comfortable the whole time.

After the session, we looked at each other, and could not really believe that we had just had a great light wind freestyle session on Cape Cod in February. It still seems crazy to me. But I'm sure there will be more similar sessions before spring arrives - the wind can be a bit fluky here on those warm winter days, and light wind freestyle on SUPs is a lot more fun than desperately trying to plane on smaller boards.

I have heard that taking a Viagra before you sail will help increase the blood flow to your extremeties and keep your hands warmer.
Just be sure to wear board shorts over your wetsuit to hide the other effects.

Thanks for sharing. I´ve looked at that suit online, i must admit that it looks totally terrible. For me that does not matter at all since i´m mostly alone and not a single person watching. But i´ve been thinking about those tubes and gloves. The water is around 0-2c during the coldest here and i´m using dakine cold water mittens. I would imagine that that tube system does not work with closed mittens since you have to blow out the water that fills the tube when you fall properly under water?

Then it´s a matter of sailing with open palm mittens in water and air around 0c, somehow i´m not convinced, but after reading your post i must admit i´m giving the suit a second thought.

I would imagine that that tube system does not work with closed mittens since you have to blow out the water that fills the tube when you fall properly under water?

I think it works fine with with closed mittens, too. I used it with mitten shells over my open palm mitts once without any problems, and have seen pictures of others using it with closed palm mittens. Water usually enters at the hands, not at the mouth piece. With closed mittens, very little water will enter.

But if you try it, you probably will find that open palm mittens work well even with very cold water. They are fine for me as long as air temps are above freezing, and my hands are more cold sensitive than most.

Thanks for sharing. I´ve looked at that suit online, i must admit that it looks totally terrible. For me that does not matter at all since i´m mostly alone and not a single person watching. But i´ve been thinking about those tubes and gloves. The water is around 0-2c during the coldest here and i´m using dakine cold water mittens. I would imagine that that tube system does not work with closed mittens since you have to blow out the water that fills the tube when you fall properly under water?

Then it´s a matter of sailing with open palm mittens in water and air around 0c, somehow i´m not convinced, but after reading your post i must admit i´m giving the suit a second thought.

Never tried the tubes with closed mitts but I have sailed with full 2mm gloves and hated it....massive forearm pump. This suit/tube in combo with open palm mitts was much nicer to use.
If you do get a suit you can of course cut away your full mitts yourself...wetsuit material holds together well after cutting without sewing in seems etc.

im interested in this suit too..often sailing solo though,
so, just wondering how easy it is to close and open that zipper by yourself?

Not as easy as a vertical obviously but can be done... I have a piece of old downhaul rope with a toggle on the end that I keep in the car...just tie one end to grab handle on top of car door and put toogle through loop on zip, then just use your bodyweight to close/open zip.

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